Metabolic activity of probiotics—Oxalate degradation

Murphy, Catherine; Murphy, Sheila C.; O’Brien, Frances; O'Donoghue, Margaret May; Boileau, Thomas; Sunvold, Gregory D.; Reinhart, Gregory A.; Kiely, Barry; Shanahan, Fergus; O’Mahony, Liam

doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2008.10.005

Cited by 43 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…However, in vitro analysis of oxalate degradation revealed that only half of the Lactobacillus isolates actually degraded oxalate under the given conditions. Consistent with previous reports, there were significant differences between isolates within some OTUs in regard to oxalate degradation (34,51). The difference between potential activity indicated by the presence of the oxc gene and actual activity quantified in the assays underscores the role of the environment in mediating oxalate degradation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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The Gastrointestinal Tract of the White-Throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula) Harbors Distinct Consortia of Oxalate-Degrading Bacteria

Miller

Kohl

Dearing

2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The microbiota inhabiting the mammalian gut is a functional organ that provides a number of services for the host. One factor that may regulate the composition and function of gut microbial communities is dietary toxins. Oxalate is a toxic plant secondary compound (PSC) produced in all major taxa of vascular plants and is consumed by a variety of animals. The mammalian herbivore Neotoma albigula is capable of consuming and degrading large quantities of dietary oxalate. We isolated and characterized oxalate-degrading bacteria from the gut contents of wild-caught animals and used high-throughput sequencing to determine the distribution of potential oxalate-degrading taxa along the gastrointestinal tract. Isolates spanned three genera: Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Enterococcus. Over half of the isolates exhibited significant oxalate degradation in vitro, and all Lactobacillus isolates contained the oxc gene, one of the genes responsible for oxalate degradation. Although diverse potential oxalate-degrading genera were distributed throughout the gastrointestinal tract, they were most concentrated in the foregut, where dietary oxalate first enters the gastrointestinal tract. We hypothesize that unique environmental conditions present in each gut region provide diverse niches that select for particular functional taxa and communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Previous studies have implicated the Lactobacillus genus as a potentially important contributor to oxalate degradation in the mammalian gut (34,51). The results of this study suggest that lactobacilli are the primary oxalate-degrading bacteria present in N. albigula.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

The Gastrointestinal Tract of the White-Throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula) Harbors Distinct Consortia of Oxalate-Degrading Bacteria

Miller

Kohl

Dearing

2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Previous research has focused on the role of individual taxa in oxalate degradation (7,20,29,37,38). However, several oxalate-degrading taxa have now been identified from the mammalian gut, and other taxa may be affected by oxalate in obscure ways (20,26,39,40). To address the gaps, we combined controlled laboratory diet trials, physiological assays, and microbial ecology to examine the taxonomic and functional response of the whole gut microbiota in a mammalian herbivore, N. albigula, which naturally consumes large amounts of oxalate in its diet, a simple compound that is metabolized exclusively by the gut microbiota (18,26).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Dietary Oxalate on the Gut Microbiota of the Mammalian Herbivore Neotoma albigula

Miller

Oakeson

Dale

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Diet is one of the primary drivers that sculpts the form and function of the mammalian gut microbiota. However, the enormous taxonomic and metabolic diversity held within the gut microbiota makes it difficult to isolate specific diet-microbe interactions. The objective of the current study was to elucidate interactions between the gut microbiota of the mammalian herbivore Neotoma albigula and dietary oxalate, a plant secondary compound (PSC) degraded exclusively by the gut microbiota. We quantified oxalate degradation in N. albigula fed increasing amounts of oxalate over time and tracked the response of the fecal microbiota using high-throughput sequencing. The amount of oxalate degraded in vivo was linearly correlated with the amount of oxalate consumed. The addition of dietary oxalate was found to impact microbial species diversity by increasing the representation of certain taxa, some of which are known to be capable of degrading oxalate (e.g., Oxalobacter spp.). Furthermore, the relative abundances of 117 operational taxonomic units (OTU) exhibited a significant correlation with oxalate consumption. The results of this study indicate that dietary oxalate induces complex interactions within the gut microbiota that include an increase in the relative abundance of a community of bacteria that may contribute either directly or indirectly to oxalate degradation in mammalian herbivores. Mammals live in a complex and largely symbiotic relationship with their gut microbiota. This microbiota harbors 150 times more genes than the host and exhibits complex interactions with the host's diet (1-3). In mammalian herbivores, diverse intestinal bacteria ferment a diet high in recalcitrant cellulose and in turn synthesize nutrients from the diet in a form more amenable to absorption by the host (4). Furthermore, mammalian herbivores harbor greater microbial diversity in their gut than either omnivores or carnivores (1). Despite the progress of research into the interactions between the mammalian gut microbiota and diet, the isolation of specific diet-microbe interactions in such a complex system has proven to be difficult (5, 6).In addition to having a role in fermentation, microbes play an important role in the biotransformation of dietary toxins in mammalian herbivores (4, 7-10). For some toxins, such as oxalate or 3,4-dihydroxypyridine (DHP), a single species of bacteria is capable of biotransforming the toxin, and this function can be transferred to other mammals through microbial transplants (7,8,11,12). For other toxins, such as creosote resin, whole microbial community transplantation into other mammals can increase tolerance (10).Oxalate, a widely produced and ingested plant secondary compound (PSC), serves as an excellent model to study diet-microbe interactions (13). It is the simplest organic acid and is toxic to mammals (14-16). Oxalate can bind to free calcium ions in the blood and aggregate in the kidneys to form kidney stones (17). In fact, oxalate is a constituent in 80% of kidney stones in humans (17). Oxala...

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“…Photocatalytic, ultrasonic, and biochemical methods for destroying oxalic acid have all been studied [14][15][16]. However, the reagent cost, energy consumption, and treating periods all limit the efficiency of degradation [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%